GENTLE sun-dappled rainfall is the benign form water takes for the child Maya (Elia Ilano) who lost her parents in a storm at sea. In Filipino folklore, this odd synchronicity of sunshine and rain is whimsically believed to happen during the weddings of tikbalang, those horse-headed creatures of our lower mythology who like to lead wayfarers astray. Do take note of the lovely cinematography and the thoughtful production design of this beautifully photographed film.

It isn’t as if the life of Vincent Van Gogh hasn’t been adapted for the big screen before. Lust for Life was Vincente Minnelli’s lustily melodramatic take (based on Irving Stone’s novel), with Kirk Douglas holding little back as he strained to suggest Vincent’s intensity; Robert Altman’s Vincent and Theo focused on the relationship between the Van Gogh brothers and their destructively parallel course; Maurice Pialat’s Van Gogh — easily the most unsentimental of the group — presents a harsh, uningratiating view of a harsh, uningratiating artist, avoiding the traditional highlights (including that ear thing) and focusing on more quotidian activities — Pialat doesn’t even make much effort to show the paintings, or approximate Vincent’s unmistakable style onscreen.

THE Sinag Maynila International Film Festival is back for its fifth year, promising to present “diverse and compelling” film starting April 4 in select cinemas. This year’s festival will have five full-length feature films, 10 short films, and five documentaries.

IN EARLY February, one of the country’s most prominent film directors — Erik Matti — bemoaned the state of Philippine cinema, saying that despite the “industry being the busiest [it has been] in the past three years” only a handful of movies have achieved box office success. He called his lengthy Facebook post on Feb. 7 a “plea for help” for the government to intervene to save the industry.

THIS MARCH, Instituto Cervantes, in collaboration with the Embassy of Spain, Intramuros Administration, and the Film Development Council of the Philippines, will present “Espacio Femenino: Spanish and Filipino Female Filmmakers,” a film cycle featuring movies by female directors, with the aim of highlighting the contribution of women to the film industry.

LOS ANGELES — First it was the furor over a proposed new “popular” film category, then it was the fiasco over planned host Kevin Hart, and last month the organizers of the Oscars were accused of intimidating celebrities not to present at rival award shows.

BERLIN — A row over whether films produced for streaming platform Netflix should be shown at the Berlin Film Festival has overshadowed the premiere of Elisa & Marcela, Isabel Coixet’s tale of two Spanish lesbians.

THE Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) has unveiled plans to create an online box office tracking system in order to “take the guesswork out of box office grosses,” according to the council’s chief executive.

LONDON — Costume romp The Favourite was the biggest winner at the BAFTAs on Sunday, taking seven awards, but Netflix black and white film Roma picked up the Best Film prize, as well as Director, at Britain’s top movie honors.

LOS ANGELES — Manga-inspired action epic Alita: Battle Angel begins its worldwide cinema roll out this week but with a hefty budget and years in the making, producer James Cameron and director Robert Rodriguez acknowledge the stakes are high at the box office.

BERLIN — A mother fleeing her violent husband, a serial killer who preys on women, and famine in 1930s Ukraine are among the weighty social and political themes explored in films showcased at this year’s Berlin Film Festival.

MANILA in 2019 is a bustling concrete jungle where the middle class and urban poor strive to have decent life, but in reality its streets are riddled with victims of extrajudicial killings, nine-year-old street urchins used by drug peddlers, inefficient public transport, and other inequalities and injustices.

PERHAPS the MTRCB wasn’t in on the jokes between the wonderful ensemble cast and their brilliantly demented director and screenwriter Marius Talampas. That may have been why this puckishly politically incorrect feature got the R-16 rating which also effectively restricted its access to screens nationwide. When God closes off a cineplex, Mama Mary opens a cinematheque, and it is along the art house circuit that Mr. Talampas’ first full length feature has found its destination audience.

LONDON — Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson is making a movie about The Beatles with previously unseen studio footage, the band’s website said on Wednesday — 50 years to the day after the Fab Four performed live together for the final time.

LOS ANGELES — The family of Michael Jackson on Monday described reaction to a new documentary about alleged child sex abuse by the late singer as a “public lynching” and said he was “100% innocent” of such accusations.

LOS ANGELES — Superhero movie Black Panther, a film heralded for its predominantly black cast and vibrant celebration of African culture, won the top award from Hollywood’s Screen Actors Guild on Sunday, boosting its chances in this year’s Oscars race.

LOS ANGELES — Netflix movie Roma and British historical romp The Favourite from Fox Searchlight led nominations for the Oscars on Tuesday in a history-making lineup that left the best picture race wide open.

LOS ANGELES — Netflix Inc. on Thursday said more than 80 million member households will have watched its thriller movie Bird Box in its first four weeks, but the streaming giant gave no viewing data for Oscar hopeful Roma.

BUDAPEST — Andrew G. Vajna, the Hungarian movie producer behind Rambo, Evita and other international hits, died in his Budapest home on Sunday following a long illness, the Hungarian National Film Fund said.

THE legacies of the iconic auteurs Lino Brocka and Ishmael Bernal, both Philippine National Artists for Film, will be honored a special exhibition called Brocka, Bernal and the City, at the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde (DLS-CSB) School of Design and Arts (SDA) Campus starting Jan. 25.

THOSE who think that the annual Metro Manila Film Fest is rubbish, full of recycled formulaic films, here is their chance to create their own better and smarter movies: they can join a contest for alternative films and videos.

THE 44th Metro Manila Film Festival drew to a successful close on Jan. 7, with the festival’s chairman announcing that they had not only surpassed last year’s gross but also recorded the highest ever take in the film festival’s history.